Uncle: Nephew's killers are 'not human'

May 03, 2009

Alex Arellano's family was so concerned about threats the 15-year-old was getting from gang members that they pulled him from Chicago Discovery Academy in the fall.

But they didn't know how serious the situation was until his uncle got a chilling call on Friday from a friend of the teenager's, saying that he was being chased and beaten with bats in a neighborhood several miles from their home.

"He was knocked down by bats, and after he got up he started to run but was struck by a car that was chasing him," said his uncle, Juan Tirado, who went Friday night to the area near 53rd Street and Sacramento where the caller said Arellano was last seen, but could find no sign of him.

The teen's severely beaten and burned body wasn't found until about 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the 3000 block of West 54th Place, a few blocks from where Tirado had been directed, police said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office said Arellano died of a gunshot wound to the head and ruled it a homicide, but would not say if the teen was dead before his body was burned. No one had been arrested by this evening.

The grieving family spent Sunday struggling to understand why a teen who police say had no criminal record or ties to gangs was targeted for such a brutal death.

"Cowards," Tirado said as he stood on the back porch of the family's apartment in the 8900 block of South Escanaba Avenue, where Alex lived with his mother, Yeimi Tirado, a 12-year-old sister and a 5-year-old stepbrother.

Tirado lashed out at his nephew's unknown killers.

"You guys are not human," he said. "A human would not do that to another human being -- especially a child, who had no gang affiliation."

He also pleaded with anyone who saw his nephew being chased on Friday about 7 p.m., when he received the call from Arellano's friend, to contact police.

"I know it's hard for people around there to say anything," Tirado said. "But if someone saw something, call the police anonymously and say something. It was just so vicious and horrifying of them to do this to a child."

Arellano last attended Chicago Discovery Academy on Sept. 9, Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond said. School administrators do not recall the teen or his family reporting a problem with threats, Bond said.

"If any student feels threatened, there is a system in place to address that," Bond said. "You could go to anybody. A teacher. The principal."